A rare orchid
by ssnapelover
Summary: Snape gets a strange question from a student


A rare orchid

She came up to his desk after the rest of the class had gone. He was surprised to see her standing beside him, quite unexpectedly. Snape always thought of her as a strange girl, wild, with long black hair (a bit greasy, like his) and not very friendly. She had few friends. He hadn't decided yet if he liked her. She was a bright student, but not very good at potion-making. She didn't seem to be very much interested in the subject, either. So, he was particularly surprised that she would stay behind to ask him a question. She held a plant in her hands, a light-green, broad-leaved plant, with small purple flowers on it.

´Please, Professor Snape, can you tell me what plant this is? I've never seen it before.´

Snape took the plant for a moment and gazed at it.

´I'm not a botanist, miss Latimer. Why ask me this question?´

´Well… I thought it might be rare, because I've never seen it before. And it might be something interesting for a potion.´

´It's an Arrow orchid, I believe,´ said Snape. ´It is quite rare, but it's useless for any potion.´

´Oh. I see,´ she said, searching for words, as if she tried to spin out the conversation. 'Thanks anyway, professor.´ She sauntered off, hesitant. Snape barely gave her another look and went on with clearing his desk. When his eyes met the reflecting glass in his potion cabinet, he saw her standing in the doorway, looking at him. Or at the cabinet, he couldn't make that out. He didn't look around, just observed her in the glass. The plant was obviously a pretext to hang about in his potion room. What _was_ that silly girl up to? He didn't like it. There were always some students lurking to steal from his cabinet and take ingredients to make party potions and concoctions to play practical jokes on other students. He hated the little thieves. He just hoped Latimer wasn't one of them. But she just stood there and watched him. After a while, when he finally turned around, she was gone.

The next time he saw her, he didn't recognize her at first. It was a big class and when he stood next to her group's cauldron, he suddenly realized it was Tess Latimer, with her hair cut, quite short. He wasn't the kind of man to make remarks about those sort of things. He hated idle talk. But he was puzzled by it. For the moment, he just gave his usual sneers and made critical remakes to the students and went about his business. When the bell rang, he pointed his finger at Tess.

´Just a few moments, miss Latimer, please? The rest of you can go.´

She stayed behind.

He looked at her for a few seconds without saying anything. It made her feel uneasy and Snape loved it. He loved to see fear in the eyes of his students, when they searched their consciousness for any mistakes or mischief they may have had committed.

'Tell me, why did you cut your hair, miss Latimer?´

She plucked at her short hair nervously and blushed. ´I just wanted something else, Professor.´

He circled around her, she could feel the air of his robes rustling.

´Do you think I don't what you're up to?´ he bluffed. ´I've seen it many times. Young ladies trying to get the attention from some male student and making silly love potions.´

´I… don't know what you mean, sir…´ she said, her eyes getting moist. He liked this bit too. He detested emotional females, lost for words, turning on the waterworks. He liked to watch how they made fools of themselves.

´Hair, miss Latimer…,´ Snape started in his lazy, velvety lecture voice, ´…is a powerful ingredient for a potion that makes one attractive to the opposite sex. And one needs lots of it. A small lock of hair will not do, you need to cut nearly all of it, if you want to be successful. And that is just what you did.´

´But…´ She wept.

´Stop it. Compose yourself. Just tell me if it's true.´

´Perhaps, yes, but…´ she sobbed.

´I will keep an eye on you,´ he concluded, not wanting to humiliate her completely now she had admitted her folly. ´I know I'm very strict with you, but this is for your own good. Now you must understand: I don't like students to make ill use of the art of potion-making. You should show it more respect. You may go.´

She walked away, her hand pressed to her mouth, looking utterly miserable.

He wondered what boy it was that she fancied. Potter, perhaps. Or Draco. She wouldn't have stood a chance. Such an unconventional and strange girl would never do for a Malfoy, even with the use of a potion. No, he had just saved her from making a big mistake. She would probably have been bullied by Malfoy´s lot, if they had found out. Yes, he was rather perceptive as a teacher.

He went to the teacher's room and drank some herbal tea. As he looked at the timetable for next weeks lessons, he suddenly heard her name.

´What Tess? The little dark haired girl?´

Two lady teachers sat talking in the corner. They spoke softly, so he had to walk about a bit, to get near them. He could only hear fragments.

´She hasn't been eating properly for weeks, always weeping, lying on her bed. It was so obvious when she cut her hair, that I simply asked her.´

´And you believe it is a teacher she's in love with, then?´

Snape´s breath failed.

´Yes, she said so. But she didn't mention a name. Understandable… too embarrassing, of course. Poor thing. She has to come to terms with it. She just has to.´

´Ah yes, we've seen it all before, haven't we, Marian. The torture of adolescence.`

Snape looked at the tealeaves at the bottom of his cup. It took him back to the moment where Tess showed him the orchid. In his mind's eye he saw her, how she stood in the doorway and watched him. And his heart ached.


End file.
